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PokerStars to Raise the Rake on Low Buy-in MTTs
PokerStars has been trying to tell the poker community for the last couple of years that they care about recreational players and that certain changes have been to make the game better for non-pros. Unfortunately, many have not been buying this line and after a recent announcement, the company seems to really not care about players at ANY level.
On Tuesday, the company announced that they will be raising rake on all multi-table tournaments (MTTs) with a buy-in of under $20. This announcement comes after multiple rake hikes over the last couple of years and is yet another thumb in the eye to loyal players of the site.
Rake Hike Due to “Changing Conditions” in Poker Market
The announcement of the rake hike came on the PokerStars Blog on Monday. They opened stating how that they need “maximum flexibility and agility to adjust to changing conditions” and talked about how that pricing is a key consideration.
They then stated about how they are reviewing and adjusting pricing, bonuses and rewards on an ongoing basis. This led into the announcement of two changes.
The first is that fees are increasing on ALL MTTs with a buy-in under $20. The amount of the rake increase was not stated but they told players that they could find rake information on the site.
Next, they said that Time Tourneys, regardless of buy-in, will see a reduction in rake. Again, no further information was given.
Reaction Was Expectedly Negative
Not surprisingly, the overall reaction to this announcement was negative from the poker community. Lee Aitken commented on the absurdity of the rake increase:
"Regs goin on and crushing 1c2c players". Definitely need more rake so those microstakes end bosses don't gobble up all those cheezburgers.
— Lee Aitken (@LeeAitken2) March 21, 2018
Thomas Keeling, aka SrslySirius, also commented, reminding us that Daniel Negreanu thinks that more rake is a GOOD thing:
In honor of today's @PokerStars rake increase targeting microstakes players, here's a highly relevant statement by @RealKidPoker. No, this isn't the old "more rake is better" clip. This is the rarely seen "less rake is worse" clip! pic.twitter.com/NZsDEZArSf
— Thomas Keeling (@SrslySirius) March 20, 2018
Twitter user Andrew Doepker also commented and pointed out how that PokerStars pros have neglected to retweet about the recent rake hikes:
It seems like @pokerstars and their pros have forgotten to share this article. They need to let players know about this opportunity to pay even more rake.
— dεp (@Andrew_Doepker) March 21, 2018
Really PokerStars? This is Your Plan to Protect Recreationals?
PokerStars has made changed in recent years claiming that they are protecting recreational players. Anyone not being paid by the World’s Largest Poker Site has stepped forward to call BS on this with some like Doug Polk openly bashing PokerStars and company for what is clearly a money grab.
This recent rake hike is just another way they are taking advantage of players that either don’t really know what is going on or don’t understand the impact behind the changes.
Companies like partypoker are making strides by taking steps to cater to both casual and pro players and it is really impacting their bottom line. Of course, PokerStars still has the massive market share and the branding, so there are many players that will continue to play there despite the game getting to the point where the rake will never be beatable.
